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The Art of Crystalocution: Part One
Simulator - Darkmount(#11997Rnt) - Polyhex As awe-inspiring as the walls and tower of Darkmount are, and how well they instill the sense of Decepticon militarism and industry, they are far from the only signs, if the most obvious. Within the tower on the 99th floor is one room that can be anywhere and anyone it wants to be. Cavernously large and covered walls, ceiling, and floor in reflective metal tiles, the simulator is an ideal training ground for weapons, recruits, or veterans looking to hone their skills. Contents: Bludgeon Training Drone Obvious exits: Out leads to Atrium - Darkmount. Training Room: Your current profile has been saved. It will be restored when you exit the room. This is a training room. Check out +help Training_Rooms for special commands. Bludgeon is present in the Training Simulator, awaiting an appointment. He's arrived early to set things up, to get everything he needs together and assembled for Scorn's lessons. He's been debating on how best to approach how to teach her, to find the optimal balance between time and technique and intensity. He seems content with what he's designed so far. He stands in the middle of the chamber, arms crossed over his chest, without his pretender shell. He has no need of it right now. This is about training, about teaching. Surrounding him are several large crystal spires, columns rising up from the ground like monoliths. A crystalline forest of sorts. Vendetta arrives from the Atrium - Darkmount. Vendetta has arrived. Scorn was quite excited to finally be meeting Bludgeon for their little arrangement, so she makes sure she's on time and doesn't leave him waiting longer than he has to. Sharp click of heels announce the Insecticon's arrival, door to the training room sliding open soon after to allow her to step inside. "Impressive display." Scorn muses at the sight of the crystal spires when walking past, stopping only when she stands before her teacher and offer a tip of her head in greeting. "Shall we begin?" Bludgeon turns as Scorn enters, inclining his head in greeting. She's on time, which is always a good thing. His faceplate offers no read on his emotions, and his eyes seem to smolder a little as they usually do. "I've spent some time debating how best to approach this. Get used to these spires; you will be seeing a great deal of them. This was one of the ways that I learned. First crystal, then stone, then steel. That is the normal order of things. If you are competent, then crystal will be enough to impart the knowledge you seek." Bludgeon walks over to the nearest spire. "Note the imperfections. I chose these spires because they are not symmetrical. The crystalline structures and growths are random and chaotic." Indeed, the crystals are not straight spires but bumpy and imperfect as described. They have parts that jut out slightly in different directions. Scorn folds hands neatly behind straight back in a professional manner, optics wandering to the spires he speaks of before moves towards one, making her follow. "It would be nice to work my way up to steel, but I imagine that would take time." She notes while rounding the spire, pausing now and then to lean in and carefully inspect the internal makeup like a jeweler. Scorn had treasures galore, so she's studied her fair share of gems. "But even the basics can be more than useful in battle." Scorn flashes a sharp smile towards the Pretender, ghosting nails across the glimmering surface as she walks back around to meet him. "So you wish me to strike the imperfections?" Gaze is cast back to the crystal and she drops her smile for a more serious expression. Her claws were good for rending, so actually attempting to strike a solid surface head on would prove interesting. Bludgeon nods once, then continues. "Crystal is the first, because you can see the fault lines in them. You cannot see the fractures in steel, or in armor, but I will teach you where to strike, once you learn /how/ to strike. Observe." Bludgeon strikes the crystal with the palm of his hand. The blow resonates, but is absorbed and dispersed by the spire. "Strike the crystal where it is solid and stable, and it will absorb your attack." He strikes the spire a second time, this time directly against one of the fault lines. The blow visibly disperses along the line with an audible crack, before the crystal breaks along it, the top of the spire sliding away. "Strike a fault line, and it will break along that line." He strikes a third time, this time at where several faults intersect together. Once again, the blow can be visually seen dispersing along all the lines, which quickly causes a chain reaction throughout the crystal. One by one, pieces of it snap, break, then shatter, and fall away as if made of glass. "Striking the solid part is easy. Every Cybertronian who clubs another is striking the solid part of their armor. It is ineffective and barbaric unless you are creating an opening with which to strike a more vital point. Striking a fault line is easier, but striking an intersect point will cause the greatest damage. It is also the hardest to strike because it requires pinpoint precision down to a micron." He extends his hand to another spire. "Try and see for yourself. Do not rush. Focus on precision. It is vital to learn to strike /all three/ points." Vendetta walks into the simulator but stays silent as to not disturb the lesson out of respect. He did caught a bit of the lesson. .oO(Strike the imperfections. Is that a way to ask me to fetch Blitzwing? Haha!)Oo. The seeker walks over to a training dummy and draws his rapier. Scorn pays careful attention as Bludgeon begins to demonstrate, though looks a bit surprised when his second and third strike actually shatter the thick crystal, allowing it to slaugh off and clatter on the floor. This may take more effort than she first imagined.. But she's determined, nodding and turning to the second spire he indicates. With a soft vent to ready herself, Scorn stands before the crystal monolith and eases into a battle stance with palms open. "Begin with the solid.." She mutters to herself before tensing and striking forward to land palm against the flat of the spire where no fault lines lay, allowing the force of her blow to harmlessly ripple through the structure. Simple enough, but her next strike would require more concentration. Scanning its internals, Scorn finally settles on a particular imperfection already running through some of the crystal and strikes out again with more effort, trying to concentrate her strength into her blow. Combat: Scorn compares her Technical to 50: Success! Vendetta listens with one audio sensor and tries to apply what he is hearing to what he is doing. He visualizes the fault...visualizes the dot where his sword will land...the size of a dime. The seeker launches himself in succession at the training dummy. Combat: Vendetta compares his Technical to 50: Success! Combat: Vendetta compares his Technical to 60: Success! Combat: Vendetta compares his Technical to 70: Failure :( Bludgeon notices Vendetta but doesn't interrupt Scorn. He keeps his attention focused on Scorn. He watches as she tests the crystal, striking it a few times. Watches as she looks for a fault line. When she strikes, the blow disperses along the line and cracks. The crystal doesn't slide away like Bludgeon's, but it's broken. A good push might knock that part of the spire over. "Good. Not as difficult as it looks. It will come with practice. I will how you how better to find faults, then simply looking with your optics." "Now watch carefully." Bludgeon strikes the solid part of the crystal. Nothing seems to happen. The blow simply disperses, visibly, throughout the structure. Bludgeon however, looks at Scorn as if expecting a response. He strikes it a second time in the same spot. Pauses. When he strikes it a third time, Scorn's optics manage to catch sight of something. As the blow disperses in waves through the crystal, the waves change as they pass through lines and fractures. Bludgeon seems to know as soon as Scorn spots it. "YES. That's what you have to learn to see, in order to shatter armor. That's why you have to learn to strike the solid. When you do, it resonates in waves throughout the whole. When you learn to read the resonations, you will learn how to see lines and fractures even in the thickest armor. But.. for now, let's focus on the crystals. "When you are able to consistently strike all three types of points reliably, then we will focus on speed. I will shout a command. Solid, line, or break. You will strike the point I issue. Instantly. In battle, there is no time to study an opponent. When an opening presents itself, you have to strike instantly, without hesitation, without pause. When a weak point shows itself you will only have a fraction of a sparkbeat to hit it. You will learn to strike instantly, the points that I direct you to strike. Part of that will mean learning to read the resonances when you are ordered to strike solid, so that you can better and more quickly strike a line or break. Then, and only then, will I teach you to shatter armor." Bludgeon takes a step back, extending his hand again for Scorn to continue. Scorn appears quite pleased when her attack weakens the structure some, though it isn't enough to make a full break like Bludgeon showed before. But hey, it's progress. At his insistence she moves aside, allowing the mech to demonstrate more. At first she appears a bit puzzled as he begins hitting the crystal as before. Is he trying to break it by sheer force? ..No, wait. Antennas quiver faintly at the resonation that ripples out from the spire, those sharp optics suddenly catching an odd waver within. "Amazing.." She marvels, hand to chin. "So you use the solid blow like sonar." An interesting trick. Listening carefully, Scorn nods and takes up her position again, readying herself before striking open palm to the hard surface again. But instead of just look for the imperfections she also feels for them and listens with acute antennas. ..Yes, there they are. It's faint, but noticeable, and she goes right for them, releasing a soft vent each time hand connects with crystal more assuredly and precise. Speed she can do, but right now she focuses on actually hitting the right spots. Combat: Scorn compares her Accuracy to 50: Success! Combat: Scorn compares her Technical to 50: Success! Bludgeon watches, patiently, as still as stone, as Scorn practices. She begins to work out the hidden dynamics within the crystal. As she strikes, the spires gradually impart their knowledge into her. It doesn't take long for her sensors to learn to look for the signs, to calibrate themselves to better find them. It is the basics of Metallikato and Crystalocution. It is the heart of striking fracture points. A long way away from striking an actual Cybertronian, but all things begin somewhere. The samurai watches as time passes, as the practice continues. "Understand, that this is not about strength. It isn't about how hard you strike. Strength itself is secondary. It doesn't require much strength to break a fracture point. It requires precision and speed. I was never a mech gifted with strength. Calculations list me as only being above average. I was not born a powerful warrior. But I learned to focus and harness what strength I do have." He walks, slowly, around Scorn and the spires as she practices and he simply talks. Sometimes he'll point out a mistake in the way she strikes. Sometimes he suggests a direct blow with her nails. "I have instructed several drones to harvest and bring more spires here, so you can continue training when I am preoccupied with other things." Scorn isn't all that used to directly attacking like this in her base mode, far more attuned to using her blades. But her precision remains the same in either mode, allowing her continue striking without pause. Solid, fault, solid, fault, intersection. The femme clenches teeth as she keeps going, always moving around the spires to get different angles, even priming sharp nails and attacking partial fractures to make them splinter out. The comment of more spires being sent is appreciated, Scorn glad she'd be able to practice, but she holds her tongue for now and continues, gaining a bit of speed as she goes. Combat: Scorn compares her Accuracy to 60: Failure :( Combat: Scorn compares her Accuracy to 60: Failure :( Combat: Scorn compares her Accuracy to 60: Success! Combat: Scorn compares her Technical to 50: Success! Vendetta continues practicing on the training dummy and ups the difficulty he goes for the ultimate strike...A fit of spanish fencing feint...misdirection and.... Combat: Vendetta compares his Accuracy to 100: Failure :( Combat: Vendetta sets his defense level to Fearless. Combat: Vendetta compares his Accuracy to 100: Failure :( Combat: Vendetta compares his Accuracy to 100: Failure :( Combat: Vendetta compares his Technical to 100: Failure :( Bludgeon continues to observe. There are moments where she strikes with excellent clarity, while other times she struggles to attain the pinpoint precision needed. But for a first outing, things are going well. "Precision and ease will come with practice. I can impart the knowledge to you, but it is up to you to reach the potential locked away inside of you." As Scorn moves to strike, Bludgeon reaches out and grabs her arm. It isn't rough; it's surprisingly light and powerful simultaneously. "You may wish to strengthen your forearms as well." He says, studying her arm carefully. "Not the muscular-servos but the external plating. There are also techniques where you can deliberately take a blow to your arms. The resonances will feedback into your enemy." He pauses, then lets go of Scorn's arm. "It's why I rarely dodge. Every time someone hits me, it lights up all of their fracture points. It saves me the effort of striking their solid points. Eventually, your optics will learn to see the resonance waves, even in steel. There are many secrets, many techniques. I cannot tell you which ones are best for /you/. I can only show you as many as I can. It's up to you, ultimately, to decide which will best suit your style." Bludgeon turns, walking away, hands moving behind his back. "Solid - Fault. Solid - Fault. Solid. Solid. Solid - Break.." He rolls on, not at a quick pace but quick enough to keep pressure on the student. Scorn is a little disappointed when some strikes aren't as precise, but she keeps going until Bludgeon catches her off guard by grabbing her arm. The instinct to lash out is strong, but she reins herself back in when she sees he isn't going to do anything but inspect. "Hn.. I'll look into that. I'm sure it'd be an easy enough thing to do." Wrist is rolled once he lets go and she nods at the insight before getting back to training, following his instruction. She'll continue this, even after he's left, determined to harness this new skill. Category:Non-TP Category:2035